Listening with three rivers

‘Listening with Three Rivers’ is a global live stream with hydrophones in the Brisbane River, Noosa River and Mary River in Queensland, Australia for World Listening Day 2019. The project is broadcasting 90-minute underwater soundscapes at various times across four days including dawn and dusk to capture the diversity of freshwater ecology.

World Listening Day is an annual global event held every July 18. Since its inception in 2010, dozens of organisations and thousands of people from six continents have participated in World Listening Day. This year’s theme is ‘LISTENING WITH’ created by internationally acclaimed sound artist Annea Lockwood. “Listening with the neighbourhood at midnight, and again at dawn. Listening with an awareness that all around you are other life-forms simultaneously listening and sensing with you – plant roots, owls, cicadas, voles – mutually intertwined within the web of vibrations which animate and surround our planet.”

River Listening is an interdisciplinary research project exploring the possibilities of freshwater ecoacoustics in the conservation and management of global river systems. The project works at the intersection of art and science by investigating the cultural and biological diversity of freshwater ecosystems, through real-time listening and underwater recording used for biodiversity monitoring and public engagement. We use non-invasive recording techniques with accessible hydrophone kits and participatory workshops to engage local communities in the process and outcomes.

Follow the #RiverListening hashtag on social media and share your experiences live, view the stream schedule below or visit locusonus.org/soundmap to listen via the Locus Sonus Sound Map. You can listen to the live stream directly via this link, but please note this link will display a 404 error message when the stream is not active (check the schedule below). Please listen with headphones on a computer for the best listening experience.

‘Listening with Three Rivers’ is part of the creative development for 'River Listening from Source to Sea: Towards a Live Map of Australian Freshwater Ecosystems'. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. Explore #WLD2019 on social media to learn more about the events and projects happening across the world for World Listening Day 2019. ​